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ao3simp's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Racism, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicide, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Mental illness
yogyaa's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
it was a nice book but I felt like a lot of things were drawn from one of us is lying
em being the protactor was kinda predictable but Louisa being em, it wasn't
overall I just didn't feel really connected to the characters and I REALLY didn't like Peter. Altho I will be intrested to read the whole "secret of the golden trio"
em being the protactor was kinda predictable but Louisa being em, it wasn't
overall I just didn't feel really connected to the characters and I REALLY didn't like Peter. Altho I will be intrested to read the whole "secret of the golden trio"
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Toxic friendship, and Bullying
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
venetiana's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I quite enjoyed this, the relationship dynamics were really good. The dialogues and the ending felt a bit less smooth, overall the plot seemed less consistent towards the end. Still entertaining!
(One thing I found really infuriating: the book shoving the school motto down my throat every few pages - I would definitely have remembered with much, MUCH fewer mentions, too. š)
(One thing I found really infuriating: the book shoving the school motto down my throat every few pages - I would definitely have remembered with much, MUCH fewer mentions, too. š)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Alcohol, Blood, Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, Classism, Death, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Adult/minor relationship, Fire/Fire injury, Mental illness, Sexual harassment, Child death, Drug use, Stalking, Suicide attempt, and Toxic relationship
icarly's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I read this book in one night and it was worth being tired over the next day. A bonus is that I commented praises on Zhaoās TikTok and she actually replied back to me, which was incredibly special.
This book is so good! It was fast paced with short chapters (my favorite kind of read) and the plot was exciting and kept me hooked the entire time.
Its plot is very similar to One of Us is Lying, but I personally liked this book better. It probably was the setting that did it for me - who doesnāt love dark academia?
My favorite character was probably Krystal or Akil, but I pretty much liked all of them equally. They werenāt necessarily the most interesting characters Iāve ever met, but I liked them nonetheless.
I would recommend this book to people because I personally enjoyed reading it a lot and I think that itās a quick and easy read for anyone who wants something exciting.
This book is so good! It was fast paced with short chapters (my favorite kind of read) and the plot was exciting and kept me hooked the entire time.
Its plot is very similar to One of Us is Lying, but I personally liked this book better. It probably was the setting that did it for me - who doesnāt love dark academia?
My favorite character was probably Krystal or Akil, but I pretty much liked all of them equally. They werenāt necessarily the most interesting characters Iāve ever met, but I liked them nonetheless.
I would recommend this book to people because I personally enjoyed reading it a lot and I think that itās a quick and easy read for anyone who wants something exciting.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, and Racism
Minor: Self harm
hello_lovely13's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Iāve been waiting for this book to release, and I finally read it! Zhao sets the tone of the book so well, and it everything feels so realistic. I especially appreciate the care that went into the subtleties, such as details that concern Jamieās relationship with her father. Alexander Lin is my new comfort character. He is a pure cinnamon roll that needs to be loved and protected! Itās hard to find something related to dark academia that has a diverse cast (something Iām always on the prowl for), and this book NAILS it. This book brought up so many true and tough topics that need to be discussed more. I was definitely brought back to my competitive, anxiety-filled, under-too-much-pressure self when reading because Zhao set it up so well (I said it once, and Iāll say it again, Zhao NAILS the tone). There are so many complex characters that are lovable, yet hatable at the same time (again, except Alexander, who only deserves love). Zhao blends diverse stories and backgrounds so well that the characters felt real. Itās just a well done book! Iāll admit, there is a bit about the twist that I personally was just *eh* about, but otherwiseā¦just spectacular! Also, props and great respect for Zhao adding the trigger warnings in the Authorās Note at the beginning of the book!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship
Moderate: Domestic abuse and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Racism, Drug use, Self harm, and Panic attacks/disorders
soljovis's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
0.25
Iāve thought about nothing for the past 24 hours except how angry this book made me. Every adult in this book failed every child. A 14/15 year old girl in a relationship with an adult man is a victim of a predator. This happens TWICE in this book with no consequences for either of the predators but both girls are publicly shamed and portrayed as the seducer. Fucked. Also the characters were shallow and unlikeable and the twist ending was like a bad episode of PLL. I understand what the authorās intent was with this book but all the messages were overshadowed by melodrama and overtly problematic plot points. I have so many more issues with this book but I will leave it here.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Child abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, and Suicide
Minor: Alcohol, Drug use, and Fire/Fire injury
plumpaperbacks's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Iāve really been enjoying dark academia books these last few weeks, and definitely wanted to read this book after seeing so much hype surrounding its release.
Overall, I liked it. The characters were complex and well-written, and honestly, I felt bad for most of them. Sinclair Prepās cutthroat nature kind of terrified me, as a white person that attended a public school and never truly tried to be top of my class. That and the anonymous person leaking secrets gave me Ace of Spades vibes, and it worked well.
Zhao did a decent job crafting the mystery, and an excellent job balancing the dual timelines. The main reason for my rating is that I found so much of this bookās plot predictable. Although I never imagined the culpritās identity, didnāt even come close and was quite surprised by the reveal, I guessed almost everything else. Iām not sure if this is on the book for being predictable or on me because Iāve read a fair amount of thrillers, but nonetheless, I figured most things out early, and that took away from a lot of the storyās suspense and intrigue.
Despite that, I do still recommend the book, and I can see myself picking up more of Zhaoās YA in the future.
Representation
Overall, I liked it. The characters were complex and well-written, and honestly, I felt bad for most of them. Sinclair Prepās cutthroat nature kind of terrified me, as a white person that attended a public school and never truly tried to be top of my class. That and the anonymous person leaking secrets gave me Ace of Spades vibes, and it worked well.
Zhao did a decent job crafting the mystery, and an excellent job balancing the dual timelines. The main reason for my rating is that I found so much of this bookās plot predictable. Although I never imagined the culpritās identity, didnāt even come close and was quite surprised by the reveal, I guessed almost everything else. Iām not sure if this is on the book for being predictable or on me because Iāve read a fair amount of thrillers, but nonetheless, I figured most things out early, and that took away from a lot of the storyās suspense and intrigue.
Despite that, I do still recommend the book, and I can see myself picking up more of Zhaoās YA in the future.
Representation
- Chinese protagonist and side characters
- Chinese bisexual side character
- Korean sapphic side character
- Indian side character
- side characters of color
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder, Violence, Self harm, Racism, and Adult/minor relationship
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Mental illness, and Drug use
Minor: Physical abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Fire/Fire injury, and Suicidal thoughts
Adult/minor relationship: between a major character and a student teacher at the academy Mental illness: most major characters have depression and/or anxiety Drug use: one character uses Adderall to keep up with school and extracurricular performance, among other reasons Physical abuse: mentioned, but not actually on-page; refers to parents beating their children for not getting perfect gradesaargot1's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Racism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Adult/minor relationship, Stalking, and Murder
Moderate: Abandonment, Xenophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, and Addiction
Minor: Body shaming
booksthatburn's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
HOW WE FALL APART is a dark academia thriller where four Asian-American high school students have to find their former friend's true killer before their darkest secrets are dragged into the light.
I love Nancy as an unabashed morally grey character. She has things she wants and lines she wonāt cross (at least so far), but those lines donāt seem to be dictated by other peopleās expectations. Itās the difference between wanting to not be bad and not wanting to get caught. Jamie Ruan, only present in flashbacks, is a fascinating and complex character, shown in a way that makes it easy to understand why Nancy would both hate her so much and have been her friend for so long. I don't feel like I really got to know Krystal and Akil that well in the present, Alexander had much more of a presence, and Jamie's shadow loomed large over the whole thing.
I wish āThe Incidentā hadnāt spent so long being teased before finally being explained because I prefer feeling like I could guess whatās happening before itās revealed and this style meant I couldnāt, but the payoff was worth it and I ended up liking the final revelation. Glancing back through the early parts of the book, it had some pretty consistent but subtle foreshadowing as to who was involved, even thought I'm pretty sure it would be tricky to guess why one a first read.
The ending begs for a sequel and it looks like one is planned. As it stands, thereās enough closure to be satisfying, but it teases potential future developments that I hope can play out in another volume.
I love Nancy as an unabashed morally grey character. She has things she wants and lines she wonāt cross (at least so far), but those lines donāt seem to be dictated by other peopleās expectations. Itās the difference between wanting to not be bad and not wanting to get caught. Jamie Ruan, only present in flashbacks, is a fascinating and complex character, shown in a way that makes it easy to understand why Nancy would both hate her so much and have been her friend for so long. I don't feel like I really got to know Krystal and Akil that well in the present, Alexander had much more of a presence, and Jamie's shadow loomed large over the whole thing.
I wish āThe Incidentā hadnāt spent so long being teased before finally being explained because I prefer feeling like I could guess whatās happening before itās revealed and this style meant I couldnāt, but the payoff was worth it and I ended up liking the final revelation. Glancing back through the early parts of the book, it had some pretty consistent but subtle foreshadowing as to who was involved, even thought I'm pretty sure it would be tricky to guess why one a first read.
The ending begs for a sequel and it looks like one is planned. As it stands, thereās enough closure to be satisfying, but it teases potential future developments that I hope can play out in another volume.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
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